Women's College Basketball

What could Caitlin Clark’s WNBA transition from Iowa look like?

15Apr

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Sports

What could Caitlin Clark’s WNBA transition from Iowa look like?

Reality is coming.In the words of Diana Taurasi, as spoken to Scott Van Pelt on SportsCenter, Caitlin Clark is due for a reckoning when she gets to the WNBA. After four years of dominating the college game, Clark is starting the next chapter of her career at the bottom as one of the youngest players in the most talented league in the world. Regardless of what the overall arc of Clark’s career ends up being, it is unlikely that she hits the ground running as the best player on the court every night, as she did at Iowa. Diana Taurasi on Caitlin Clark coming to WNBA "Reality is coming….you look superhuman playing against some 18 years olds but you're going to come play with some grown women that have been playing professional basketball for a long time" pic.twitter.com/fxBxGoRZCS — Gifdsport...

South Carolina and Iowa prove if ‘given an opportunity, women’s sports just thrives’

10Apr

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Sports

South Carolina and Iowa prove if ‘given an opportunity, women’s sports just thrives’

CLEVELAND — Everyone wanted to talk about the game, which was expected after the South Carolina women’s basketball team held off Iowa for an 87-75 victory and second national championship in three years. But Dawn Staley also wanted to talk about the other game. Actually, that’s not strong enough. She was going to discuss it.Basketball has played such an important role in her life that she protects it as fiercely as a mother would a newborn. Her love for it is matched only by her respect for it. So even as questioners asked about the Gamecocks becoming just the 10th team in NCAA Division I history to finish a season undefeated, going 38-0, Staley purposely turned the spotlight back to the person who was central in helping to make this a transformative season and inflection point in the gam...

Dawn Staley created South Carolina’s perfect championship season out of last year’s loss

10Apr

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Sports

Dawn Staley created South Carolina’s perfect championship season out of last year’s loss

CLEVELAND — As Dawn Staley stood before her team during a meeting a night before the national championship game, she took a swig of water and began to cough.“You about to cry, Coach?” a player called from the back of the room.“No,” she said and then paused. “But I might on Sunday if we win.”The players laughed, but her assistants sensed sincerity with those words. They’ve seen the burden Staley has carried this year as she has adjusted to a team that’s younger and looser. A team that sometimes wouldn’t respond to text messages or would show up late to meetings. A team that is so unlike the group that graduated a season ago.Staley has jokingly referred to this season’s roster as a day care, and no one in the Gamecocks locker room really rebuffs that point. They wear it as a badge of honor ...

With the WNBA Draft nearing, what’s next for Caitlin Clark?

10Apr

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Sports

With the WNBA Draft nearing, what’s next for Caitlin Clark?

Caitlin Clark’s college career ended Sunday with a loss to South Carolina in the national championship. But the Iowa star’s popularity won’t be going away.“I know what’s next is soon,” she said.Eight days, to be exact.That’s when Clark will be in New York for the WNBA Draft, where she’s expected to be the No. 1 pick by the Indiana Fever. After rising to national prominence during her collegiate career, there are already signs that she will make an impact in the professional league.The Pulse NewsletterFree, daily sports updates direct to your inbox. Sign upFree, daily sports updates direct to your inbox. Sign upBuyWhat to know about the WNBA DraftThe draft will take place at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York at 7:30 p.m. (ET) on April 15. ESPN will air the draft and it will also ...

18.7 million: Early figures from NCAA women’s title game make it most-watched hoops game in 5 years

9Apr

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Entertainment

18.7 million: Early figures from NCAA women’s title game make it most-watched hoops game in 5 years

BRISTOL, Conn. -- South Carolina's victory over Caitlin Clark and Iowa in Sunday's women's NCAA championship game had a preliminary audience average of 18.7 million on ABC and ESPN. The only sporting events in the United States to draw a bigger TV audience since 2019 have been , the World Cup and the Olympics.The audience numbers are expected to increase when Nielsen releases its final numbers on Tuesday. Nielsen says the audience peaked at 24 million.It's the most-watched basketball game since 2019, when the men's NCAA title game between Virginia and Texas Tech averaged 19.6 million on CBS.Monday night's men's final between UConn and Purdue was being shown on TBS and TNT. It's possible that this will be the first year the women's title game has a bigger audience.The 2015 Final Four game ...

South Carolina tops Iowa 87-75 in national championship to complete perfect season

8Apr

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Sports

South Carolina tops Iowa 87-75 in national championship to complete perfect season

CLEVELAND — Raven Johnson never shied away from her ultimate goal.She wanted a national championship, and she wanted it to come by beating Iowa.“Like I said, it was a revenge tour and there’s no better way than to play them in the championship and beat them,” Johnson said.Last year she became a social media phenomenon, but not in a positive way, when Iowa star Caitlin Clark waved her off when she was wide open at the 3-point arc. They didn’t respect Johnson’s scoring ability.In Sunday’s national championship win, Johnson didn’t do much scoring, but her defense helped the Gamecocks beat Iowa 87-75 to become the first undefeated national champion since UConn in 2016.The Pulse NewsletterFree, daily sports updates direct to your inbox. Sign upFree, daily sports updates direct to your inbox. ...

Iowa-UConn Final Four matchup breaks record for most-watched women’s college basketball game

7Apr

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Sports

Iowa-UConn Final Four matchup breaks record for most-watched women’s college basketball game

Another Iowa women’s basketball game, another new record for the sport when it comes to viewership.Iowa’s 71-69 win over UConn on Friday night in Cleveland set a new record for the most-watched women’s college basketball game in history. The game was viewed by 14.2 million people and peaked at 17 million viewers. Chad Leistikow of the Des Moines Register was the first to report the news.This game tops the previous all-time viewership record, which was set on Monday when Iowa’s win over LSU averaged 12.3 million viewers and peaked at 16 million viewers. To put this in perspective. This game tops… • Every World Series game last year.• Every NBA Finals game last year.• Every Daytona 500 since 2013.• Every Masters final round viewership since 2013.• All but five CFB games in 2023. https://t.c...

Iowa vs. South Carolina gives us the ending we wanted and the finale this season deserves

7Apr

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Sports

Iowa vs. South Carolina gives us the ending we wanted and the finale this season deserves

CLEVELAND — Just when you thought this women’s basketball season couldn’t give any more, just when you thought it had drained itself of record on-court performances, all-time viewership numbers and compelling grudge matches, it is giving us an opportunity to witness all three in one game, pitting Iowa against South Carolina in the national championship showdown most fans and every ABC executive wanted.It had to end this way, right? Great player versus great team. The quest for the perfect ending versus the pursuit of the perfect season. An opportunity for South Carolina to avenge its only loss of the last two seasons. A way to cap a memorable season with a potentially unforgettable finale.If the Iowa-LSU regional final drew an average of 12.3 million viewers on a Monday night on cable, it...

Iowa-UConn women’s Final Four semifinal most-watched hoops game in ESPN history; 14.2M avg. viewers

7Apr

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Entertainment

Iowa-UConn women’s Final Four semifinal most-watched hoops game in ESPN history; 14.2M avg. viewers

Iowa’s 71-69 victory over UConn at the women’s Final Four on Friday night averaged 14.2 million viewers on ESPN, making it the most-viewed women’s basketball game on record and the largest audience for an ESPN basketball broadcastBRISTOL, Conn. -- BRISTOL, Conn. (AP) — Iowa's 71-69 victory over UConn at the women's Final Four on Friday night averaged 14.2 million viewers on ESPN, making it the most-viewed women's basketball game on record and the largest audience for an ESPN basketball broadcast.The previous women's hoops mark was 12.3 million for last Monday's Iowa-LSU game in the Elite Eight. Game 7 of the 2018 Eastern Conference finals between Cleveland and Boston was ESPN's most-watched basketball game at 13.51 million.That also makes it one of the most-viewed games in any sport other...

In Final Four, Caitlin Clark and Iowa can break streak of Hawkeyes heartbreak

5Apr

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Sports

In Final Four, Caitlin Clark and Iowa can break streak of Hawkeyes heartbreak

Follow live coverage today as Iowa, UConn meet in Final FourIOWA CITY, Iowa — Second-seeded Iowa led top-seed UNLV by 20 points in the 1987 men’s basketball Elite Eight.The 1970 Iowa men’s basketball team still holds the Big Ten record for points per game (102.3) and led Jacksonville by one point with seconds remaining in their Sweet 16 matchup. Ronnie Lester was the best player in the 1980 Final Four, and the Hawkeyes point guard proved it in his first 10 minutes against Louisville.Ronnie Harmon was an All-American running back entering the 1986 Rose Bowl against UCLA, and No. 3 Iowa still had a shot at the national title. The unbeaten Hawkeyes held a four-point lead on Michigan State after a punt with less than 10 minutes remaining in the 2015 Big Ten football title game.With 11 seconds...